


Believe

by McKay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossdressing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 16:33:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10994718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKay/pseuds/McKay
Summary: Severus has something to believe in; Remus is still looking.





	Believe

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2006. Written for the Snape-A-Rama Instant AU Challenge based on the following prompt by lore: "Both FBI agents - one a believer, one a scientist - investigating a mysterious wardrobe".

What happened between them in the car on a regular basis was usually referred to as "heated debates" by Remus and as "arguments" by Severus, who also suspected it was some bizarre form of intellectual flirtation. Then again, Severus found it easier to believe and accept things that weren't visible on the surface; he wasn't called "Spooky" Snape for nothing.  
  
He knew the rumors, of course. Most of his colleagues thought he'd suffered a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving in the Gulf War; he had been captured and spent time as a prisoner of war, and it had left him a "little touched in the head", as the more tactful among them put it. Severus didn't bother correcting them or trying to polish his tarnished reputation; he liked being given the weird cases, the ones that no one else wanted, the ones that didn't make sense if you applied relentless logic to them and refused to accept there might be an _illogical reason_ behind them. After what he'd experienced out there in the desert, he considered himself both better equipped and better qualified to deal with such cases.  
  
Severus was a believer, steady in his faith even when surrounded by ridicule and skepticism. Even when it came from his own partner, as it frequently did. Then again, his own partner was in denial about a lot of things, including, Severus suspected, his own sexuality. Remus' recent relationship with a pretty young rookie had only cemented Severus' opinion, not because of the relationship itself, but because of the way in which it played out.  
  
For weeks, Remus had grumbled about the girl dropping by his office, asking questions and gazing up at him like some doe-eyed acolyte and had tried to rebuff her gently, which had raised Severus' red flags even higher than they already were. What single, heterosexual man approaching middle-age in his right mind would turn down a nubile young woman who was doing everything short of offering herself up on his desk wearing only a red bow and a gilt-edged invitation between her legs reading, "fuck me, please"?  
  
"Ten bucks says you cave," Severus had said one night while they were staking out a coven suspected of engaging in human sacrifice.  
  
"I won't," Remus had asserted firmly. "I'm not interested."  
  
Two weeks later, Remus had handed over a ten dollar bill, and he and the young rookie had dated for six months. Severus didn't ask what had led to the end of their relationship, and Remus didn't tell, but Severus imagined Remus confessing he was gay wasn't part of it, although it should have been.  
  
"There's nothing weird about our cases," Remus insisted as he flipped on the turn signal and maneuvered the car - a sleek, black, artfully nondescript model that screamed "FBI vehicle" - into the exit lane.  
  
"Finding out the murderer we've been tracking is the conjoined twin of an alcoholic ex-carny barker is not weird." Severus turned as much as his seatbelt would allow and raised an eyebrow at Remus.  
  
"All right, I'll grant you that one."  
  
The tiny frown line appeared between Remus' eyebrows, and Severus folded his arms and leaned back in his seat, settling in. The appearance of that line heralded the start of one of their heated debates/arguments, and since they had an hour's drive ahead of them, Severus thought he might as well get comfortable.  
  
"But there's a rational explanation for everything we've encountered," Remus continued.  
  
"Right, and sometimes that rational explanation has been 'there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy'," Severus countered. "Just because you don't want to accept it doesn't make it any less true."  
  
"I could say the same to you," Remus said, pressing the cruise control button and taking his foot off the gas.  
  
"The problem with you, Remus, is that you have no passion. You care too much about what other people think to let yourself truly believe anything."  
  
"That's not true! I have plenty of passion." Remus shot him an annoyed scowl that made Severus suspect he'd hit a nerve.  
  
"Oh, really." Severus gave him a dubious look.  
  
"Yes." Remus gripped the steering wheel with both hands until his knuckles turned white, and he stared resolutely at the road ahead. "With Dora, for example. We were very passionate. Sometimes even twice a week."  
  
"Twice a week? Yes, you certainly got your freak on, you wild thing." Severus rolled his eyes, more convinced than ever that Remus was in denial. "I'm not talking about that kind of passion anyway - not exclusively."  
  
"Then what _are_ you talking about?"  
  
Severus fell silent for a moment, watching the road signs zoom past as he tried to determine the best way to explain what he meant. "When was the last time you cared so much about anything that you felt consumed?" he asked quietly. "When have you ever in your life wanted something so much that you were willing to sacrifice whatever you had to in order to get it or make it happen?" He turned, fixing Remus with a piercing look. "When have you ever burned, Remus? When have you truly _lived_?"  
  
Remus glanced at him, wide-eyed, and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out; at last, he shook his head, focusing his attention on the road again.  
  
"That's what I thought," Severus said with grim satisfaction, and they didn't speak again until they arrived at their destination.  
  
They had been sent to an antique shop in Spotsylvania, specifically an antique wardrobe that the owner of the shop claimed was having a strange effect on people.  
  
"It's probably some sort of psychotropic emission," Remus said. "Maybe the old wood and the stain or varnish didn't react well together."  
  
"Or it could be haunted," Severus said as he climbed out of the car and smoothed down the front of his jacket, glad to stretch his legs after the long drive. "We shouldn't rule out poltergeist activity."  
  
Remus' only response to that was a long-suffering sigh.  
  
The owner of the shop, Mr. Harper, greeted them with visible relief and quickly escorted them to a dusty, quiet stockroom that was littered with broken odds and ends more suitable for a junkyard than an antique shop. But it was all eclipsed by the tarp-covered object looming on the far side of the room.  
  
"That's it?" Severus gestured to the covered object, and Harper nodded.  
  
"I keep it covered because it doesn't bother anyone then," he explained.  
  
"Could you tell us exactly what happened?" Remus asked in his most reasonable, 'we're here to help' voice.  
  
"I bought it at an auction. There were quite a few imports, mostly furniture. It was from Scotland, I think." Harper frowned and shrugged. "The seller claimed they were all heirlooms from some castle, but I don't know if that's true or not. Everything went for a high price, but I managed to get this piece. Now I wish I hadn't," he added with a mournful look at the covered wardrobe. "I think it's cursed."  
  
"Why do you think that, Mr. Harper?" Severus asked, shooting a brief look at Remus that bordered on smugness.  
  
"There's something in there," Harper said, melancholy turning to distaste. "Every time I open it, something comes out."  
  
"What?" Remus asked, appearing curious in spite of himself, but Harper pressed his lips together and shook his head, refusing to answer.  
  
"My wife saw something different. So did the customers who opened it while I still had it out front. It nearly gave poor old Mrs. Seaton a heart attack. I had to call 911."  
  
As if whatever lurked inside the wardrobe realized it was being discussed, something inside the wardrobe bumped around, making the heavy piece rock slightly; Remus reached for his gun, but Severus shook his head, waving one hand in a warning gesture.  
  
"Don't," he said. "We don't want to damage the wardrobe. It's valuable, and if what's inside there is what I think it is, bullets won't do any good anyway."  
  
Harper went white and edged toward the door. "I'll - just let you two get on with your investigation."  
  
As soon as Harper was out of the room, Severus strode over to the wardrobe and yanked the tarp off, and then he reached for the door to open it.  
  
"Severus!"  
  
He glanced over his shoulder impatiently.  
  
"You're just going to open it?" Remus stared at him, looking dumbfounded. "There could be some kind of dangerous animal trapped in there."  
  
"Weren't you listening?" Severus retorted sharply. "There's no animal."  
  
"There's no ghost either!"  
  
"Oh, really." Severus regarded him with narrowed eyes, and then he stepped away from the wardrobe and made a sweeping, courtly bow. "Then you open it."  
  
Remus hesitated, licking his lips, and then he nodded resolutely and pulled his gun, inching toward the wardrobe cautiously. Carrying his gun at the ready in one hand, he reached out with the other and flicked the door open with a quick motion, and then he leaped back, waiting...  
  
And after a moment, Severus emerged from the musty, dark depths of the wardrobe. But not Severus as he normally appeared in a dark suit - always black or charcoal - and a solemn expression. No, this Severus wore a deep green corset cinched tight enough to give him the illusion of a curving waist with matching silk panties with a garter belt and stockings and high heeled shoes that emphasized exactly how long his legs really were.  
  
Letting out a high-pitched squeak, Remus glanced back, wide-eyed and desperate, as if to assure himself that Severus - the _real_ Severus - was still behind him, but he didn't appear terribly reassured to see that Severus was indeed still there.  
  
"This is a joke, right?" he asked weakly as the Severus from the wardrobe cocked his hip and gave Remus a 'come hither' look. "You set this up to prove some kind of point."  
  
"I had nothing to do with this," Severus said, his eyes climbing to his hairline as he stared at his doppelganger. This was certainly an unexpected and interesting turn of events and one that did nothing to dispel his suspicions about Remus' true leanings. "I have a theory. Move as far away from it as you can," he instructed as he stepped forward.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Just do it." Severus shot him an aggrieved look. "If it was going to attack, it would have done it by now."  
  
Reluctantly, Remus stepped back, retreating to the other side of the room, and Severus took his place by the wardrobe. He and his doppelganger regarded one another somberly for a moment, and then the creature, whatever it was, blurred, seeming to twist and turn, and when it stopped, it had assumed another form.  
  
A cheeseburger.  
  
But not just any cheeseburger - a cheeseburger the size of a dinner plate with three kinds of cheese and two patties slathered in mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, and chili.  
  
"What the hell..." Remus gaped at the cheeseburger, and Severus turned to him with a triumphant smirk.  
  
"It assumes the shape of whatever you desire most," he said blandly, watching with smug satisfaction as Remus' face turned several different shades of red.  
  
" _That's_ what you desire most?" Remus sputtered, flailing one hand at the sandwich. "A _cheeseburger_?"  
  
Severus shrugged. "I'm hungry, and you wouldn't stop for lunch."  
  
He had focused his considerable powers of concentration on a cheeseburger as he faced the creature, not wanting it to assume the shape of what he really desired. Remus had had enough shocks for one day, after all, and in spite of what his colleagues said, he did possess a modicum of tact and empathy.  
  
After an hour spent fruitlessly trying to capture the creature, they decided to confiscate the entire wardrobe instead. "Maybe in a controlled environment, a full investigation can be made," Severus said.  
  
 _Or maybe the boys in the lab will get their little minds shaken up_ , he thought with a certain amount of evil glee. It would be small recompense for the amount of ridicule he'd borne from those know-it-all, 'if it can't be explained by science, it isn't real' stuffed shirts, especially Potter and Black. They were the worst, and he was fairly certain they were responsible for his nickname, too.  
  
Harper didn't argue; he seemed eager to let them take the wardrobe away, which was a relief. Severus assured him that he would be compensated for the loss, but Harper seemed more than happy to let them haul it off, compensation or no.  
  
They didn't speak about what first emerged from the wardrobe, but Severus was a patient man. He suspected things would go one of two ways. Either Remus would sublimate the entire event and try to forget it ever happened, or Remus needed time to chew it over and assimilate this new bit of information about himself that he had been valiantly repressing for so long. In the meantime, Severus treated him the same as always, and after a couple of awkward days, Remus eventually relaxed and began arguing with Severus again, which assured Severus that things would be all right, no matter which option Remus chose.  
  
Things might have continued that way indefinitely had Severus not been mauled by a psychotic skin-walker.  
  
"I thought you were dead," Remus said as he sat perched on the edge of Severus' hospital bed, clasping his hands together tightly as his gaze roamed all over Severus as if to assure himself this was real. "There was so much blood, and you were so..." He swallowed hard. "I'm glad you're all right."  
  
"I wouldn't have been if you hadn't shot him." Severus reached out and touched Remus' arm lightly. "Thank you."  
  
The contact seemed to break down some kind of wall within Remus, or perhaps offer him permission to show his true feelings, because he grabbed Severus' hand suddenly and clutched it between both his own, stroking the back of it gently.  
  
"I didn't think a man could inflict that kind of damage."  
  
"It wasn't-"  
  
"It _was_. I saw him," Remus said, that frown line forming between his eyes, and Severus smiled and relaxed against the pillows, letting this argument go. He knew what had attacked him, knew the skin-walker hadn't been in human form when he struck, only reverted back when he died, but if Remus needed to believe otherwise to get him past the horror of the experience, so be it.  
  
"You're holding my hand," Severus pointed out, steering the conversation away from a potential quarrel and nudging Remus along. Patience was all very well and good, but sometimes people needed a little prodding.  
  
"I know." Remus glanced down, his face turning various shades of red again, which Severus thought was both adorable and endearing. "I've been thinking - I mean - it's just that - oh, hell." He let out an exasperated sigh and then swiftly bent and kissed Severus.  
  
Too startled to respond at first, Severus froze, and then he parted his lips and darted his tongue out before Remus could get the wrong idea about his response and pull away. Remus' fingers tightened around his as they deepened the kiss, and Severus rested his free hand on the back of Remus' head, holding him in place lightly until there was no question that he wanted the kiss, wanted Remus more than he wanted any cheeseburger, even with extra cheese and chili.  
  
"When I looked down and saw you lying there broken, I felt it," Remus whispered against his lips. "Passion."  
  
"Do you burn?" Severus asked, his own voice a raspy whisper. "Are you consumed?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good."  
  
Three days after he was released from the hospital, Severus showed up at Remus' door wearing a trenchcoat over lingerie as close in style and color as he could find to what the creature in the wardrobe had worn. Judging by Remus' bug-eyed expression when Severus opened his coat, he thought he got close enough to make Remus quite happy, and that was the whole point anyway.  
  
"I brought plenty of condoms," Severus said after Remus had pushed him against the closed door and kissed him breathless.  
  
"I have a clean bill of health, Severus."  
  
"That's as may be, but I was abducted and impregnated by aliens once. I'm not taking any chances with you."  
  
Remus pulled back and gazed at him uncertainly. "You're joking... right?"  
  
Severus merely smirked and kissed him again. Let him wonder. The truth was out there, and Remus would find out soon enough.


End file.
